The Houston Rockets' road to a third consecutive NBA title just got a little harder.
Swingman Mario Elie broke his right wrist and point guard Sam Cassell suffered a bruised left shoulder in second-period mishaps Wednesday night. Elie will be gone for eight weeks, Cassell for an undetermined time.Their replacements - Tim Breaux and Eldridge Recasner - came through with crucial baskets down the stretch, while Hakeem Olajuwon scored 37 points in Houston's 120-112 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
When Houston's game was on the line, so was Olajuwon.
The center scored 16 points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of three-point plays in the final 41/2 minutes. Clyde Drexler added 22 points as the Rockets grabbed their third straight win.
Knicks 92, Clippers 81
New York played without its best rebounder - Charles Oakley, sidelined with tendinitis in his left Achilles - but Patrick Ewing had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Charles Smith added 20 points as the Knicks won at Los Angeles.
New York held the Clippers to their lowest scoring total of the season.
Brian Williams had 19 points for the Clippers, who have dropped 17 of their last 19 meetings with the Knicks.
Magic 113, Suns 95
With Shaquille O'Neal scoring 18 of his 35 points in the third quarter, Cotton Fitzsimmons was unable to pull out a victory at Phoenix in his third debut as Suns coach.
Fitzsimmons replaced Paul Westphal, who was fired Tuesday.
Michael Finley scored 18 points, and Wesley Person and Wayman Tisdale had 16 each for the Suns, who dressed the league minimum of eight players for the fifth consecutive game.
Hawks 102, Pacers 93
In Atlanta, the Hawks won their fifth straight game, taking advantage of flu-ridden Reggie Miller's absence to hold Indiana scoreless for nearly five minutes in the third quarter.
Stacey Augmon scored a season-high 24 points to lead the Hawks, whose winning streak is the longest since they won five in a row nearly two years ago.
Nets 97, Hornets 93
Two free throws by Kenny Anderson with 6.6 seconds remaining clinched New Jersey's victory at Charlotte. The loss prevented the Hornets from reaching the .500 mark for the first time since Nov. 11.
Armon Gilliam scored 24 points and Anderson 22 in the Nets' fourth road victory in 19 tries this season.
Heat 96, Bullets 89
Host Miami overcame the ejection of two players for fighting to snap a five-game losing streak behind Alonzo Mourning's 38 points, tying his season high.
Juwan Howard of Washington and Miami's Bimbo Coles and Keith Askins were ejected following a second-period brawl.
Mourning missed his first eight shots, but still outdueled 7-foot-7 Gheorghe Muresan, who had 19 points and a career-high 21 rebounds.
Bucks 111, 76ers 100
Glenn Robinson scored 37 points as Milwaukee won at Philadelphia, handing the 76ers their third straight loss.
Milwaukee, which has won four straight at the Spectrum and two in a row overall, also got 19 points from Benoit Benjamin. Vin Baker had 10 rebounds.
Timberwolves 98, Warriors 88
Isaiah Rider scored a season-high 31 points and handed out seven assists as host Minnesota posted its second straight victory for the first time since Dec. 6-8.